For the third ePrix of the season, Formula E headed to Miami. After victory in Mexico, Nick Cassidy led the championship. Dan Ticktum topped FP1 on Friday and Taylor Barnard topped FP2 on Saturday.
Qualifying
Qualifying started with two groups. In Group One, Norman Nato, Cassidy, Nyck de Vries, and Nico Muller advanced to the duels. Nato faced Muller, while de Vries went up against Cassidy.
In Group Two, Barnard, Antonio Felix Da Costa, Joel Eriksson, and Fellipe Drugovich also made it through to the duels. Barnard competed against Drugovich, and Da Costa took on Eriksson.
In the quarterfinals, the first round of the duels, de Vries, Muller, Da Costa and Drugovich progressed to the semifinals. There, de Vries went head-to-head with Muller, while Da Costa battled Drugovich for a place in the final. The final saw Muller take on Drugovich, with Muller claiming pole position and earning three valuable points.
Race
The race started behind the Safety Car due to poor weather conditions in Miami. This was confirmed before the race commenced. After several laps under the safety car, the drivers lined up on lap five for a standing start to the Miami ePrix.
Once all five red lights went out, the drivers scrambled to make it through the first corner. Drugovich made a strategic move and went for a two-minute attack mode, which helped him hold onto second place. A few seconds later, he made a move on Müller to claim first. Müller activated his own attack mode, and fought back to reclaim the lead.
A black-and-white flag was shown to Eriksson for cutting turn seven. For many laps, the pack stayed bunched together. There was also constant back-and-forth fighting for first place. Da Costa made a strong push against Müller on the start-finish line. Some drivers followed team orders, while others tried to fight for first place, a podium spot, or a top-ten finish. On lap 20, during attack mode, Mitch Evans made up several places, moving from seventh to third
Later in the Race
On lap 26, the two Jaguar drivers were locked in a battle for second place. A few corners later, Da Costa and Drugovich crashed, with Drugovich suffering front-wing damage. The incident caused both drivers to lose their chances of a podium and a race win. As a result, Da Costa dropped to sixth, and Drugovich fell to seventeenth. Evans took the lead on lap 28 after making a move on Müller. He made it look easy, while Müller did not see it coming.
The race was expected to run from lap 39 to lap 41. This prediction came after several laps behind the Safety Car. It later proved to be correct. Many drivers were given track limits warnings for leaving the track. During the race, drivers were stuck in traffic at times. They also battled side by side because of underbraking or overbraking. During this time, Ticktum retired from the race, marking his third retirement of the season.
In the final laps of the race, most drivers used their last attack mode to fight for position. This caused the pack to bunch up and intensified the battle for first place. There were several battles within the top ten as many drivers used attack mode. By lap 39, the race became a two-man fight. Evans and Müller were in competition, with Wehrlein more than six seconds behind Müller. In the end, Evans took victory in Miami.
Here is what the top ten looked like at the Miami ePrix.
- Mitch Evans
- Nico Muller
- Pascal Wherlien
- Joel Eriksson
- Nyck de Vries
- Edoardo Mortara
- Sebastian Buemi
- Antonio Felix Da Costa
- Pepe Mati
- Jake Dennis
Formula E is back in Jeddah on February 13th and 14th, as a double header.
Featured image credit: Formula E
Edited by Alexandra.
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